Cup can throw up surprises but I'm confident my old clubs won't be victims of new shocks

Friday 9 April 2010 11:45 BST

This season's FA Cup Final will be between Chelsea and Tottenham.

I know strange things can happen in Cup semi-finals - teams can freeze, players don't perform to their potential - but I expect this weekend's matches to run true to form with both my old clubs coming through.

Before I look at the matches, though, I have to say I'm not totally comfortable with both semis being played at Wembley. I understand all the arguments and the good thing with the games being there is that more supporters are able to watch their teams.

However, having grown up with the excitement surrounding a Cup final at Wembley and all that means, playing the semifinals there as well seems to dilute things a bit.

Of the matches, the one between Spurs and Portsmouth is certainly the most clear-cut.

Portsmouth, for all their prolems this season, have shown great fighting spirit to get this far but, with so many players out, this looks a bridge too far for them.

I'm not sure who Harry Redknapp will play up front but whoever it is, I would expect them to be dominant in the last third of the pitch.

Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko are the main men but don't discount Eidur Gudjohnssen. Signing him on loan in January was a great move for Spurs.

The other semi looks much tighter despite Chelsea mauling Aston Villa 7-1 in the Premier League just a couple of weeks ago.

Strangely enough that result could work more in Villa's favour more than Chelsea's because Martin O'Neill and his players will certainly still be seething at such a heavy defeat.

As for Chelsea, their captain John Terry seems to have got over all the furore surrounding his private life and I would expect them to be too strong and technical for Villa.

Hoddle is the technical director of The London Legends Cup at Upton Park on Sunday 30 May between former stars of Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham.